Vice President Joe Biden attacked Mitt Romney over his history as an executive at Bain Capital, arguing that his experience in private equity renders him unfit to serve as president.
“When they succeed and the company succeeds, they make money,” Biden said today in New Hampshire. “When the company they got involved with fails, they make money.” He added that “making money regardless of the consequences for the workers, the companies they acquire, the communities that get wasted, is another question,” saying, “it’s not the president’s job.”
The Obama campaign has targeted Romney for some investments made by Bain Capital that involved workers being laid off, but that tactic backfired somewhat when Newark Mayor Cory Booker — an Obama campaign surrogate — called for Obama to suspend the “nauseating” attacks on Bain.
“If you look at the totality of Bain Capital’s record, they have done a lot to support businesses to grow businesses and this to me, I’m very comfortable,” Booker said Sunday on Meet the Press. “The last point I’ll make is, this kind of stuff is nauseating to me on both sides. It’s nauseating to the American public. Enough is enough, stop attacking private equity, stop attacking Jeremiah Wright. This stuff has got to stop.”
Biden responded to “the guy they quote now” — referring to Republican counter attacks — but it wasn’t clear to whom he was referring (several Democrats have criticized Obama over the Bain attack in recent days). But Biden echoed Booker while defending the anti-Romney ads.
“When Romney says were bashing private capital, it’s not true,” he said. “Your job as president is to promote the common good. That doesnt mean the private equity guys are bad guys.”
